Friday, November 20, 2015

Why UIRC?

Ashley
and Jake both grew up in Utah, married young at age 23, graduated from
college, landed great jobs and dreamed of a future with five children. A
year after their wedding, they began trying to conceive. Month after
heartbreaking month, the pregnancy tests were negative. Pregnancy
announcements from friends and family started getting harder to
celebrate. Reality began to set in, and with it the realization that
they would need medical help in order to grow their family. Jake felt
like less of a man for not being able to get his wife pregnant. Ashley
felt like less of a woman, wondering what her purpose in life must be if
she couldn’t be a mom. She began to sink into a dark depression,
feeling like she was losing sight of her lifelong dream of having kids.

Friends
and family meant well, but the question now stung: When would they
start a family? Four years, many invasive treatments, a failed adoption
and thousands of dollars later, Ashley and Jake are still childless.
They are the one in eight.

One
of every eight couples look like everyone else, but they face issues
the others may never understand. The Ashleys and Jakes of the world may
share their secret in hopes of finding support, or they may choose to
keep it to themselves, perhaps hoping it’ll go away if they don’t
discuss it.

One
of every eight couples struggles with infertility, and many of them
feel entirely alone. A recent survey of 152 individuals in Utah with
infertility showed that 75% of respondents believe infertility to be the
most upsetting event of their life. Additionally, research has shown
that women with infertility have the same levels of anxiety and
depression as do women with cancer, heart disease, and HIV+ status.

Many
couples don’t know where to go for support, counseling, or treatment
related to infertility. It is still a taboo topic in most circles,
making it harder for those with infertility to feel like they have
someone to turn to.

At
the Footsteps for Fertility 5K event earlier this year in Salt Lake City
where couples can win grants towards fertility treatments, UIRC’s
founder, Camille, looked around and realized there was nowhere to go for
infertility support. There were hundreds gathered because they were
facing infertility and there was nowhere to turn and say, “I’m having a
hard time. Can you help?”

We
founded the Utah Infertility Resource Center in an effort to help these
couples and their friends and family and bring awareness to those not
currently affected by infertility. As a nonprofit run by women who have
struggled or are presently struggling with infertility, we bring
understanding to a condition that is too often misunderstood.

Using
our own experiences as a foundation, we are building a safe space where
couples can turn for education consultations, support groups across the
state, and counseling services. UIRC bridges the gap for these
struggling families. We also offer educational events to support the
infertility community. We will bring awareness to those who don’t know
about infertility through online awareness, community events, and
advocacy.

Offering
these services in Utah will benefit our community as a whole and weaken
the taboo surrounding infertility.We believe that we can fill this gap
in Utah, and this is just our beginning. We look forward to becoming a
permanent fixture so we can serve the emotional and social needs of the
infertility community in Utah for years to come